Over the last ten years, there has been ongoing debate about which step in the recruitment process is the most important. My view over this period has remained unchanged – ie: all the major steps are so important, that leaving any of them out would be negligent on the part of the recruiter (whether they are an agency recruiter or the employer).
Those key steps are: interviewing, psychometric testing and reference checking.

I know, the other steps are important too. I wouldn’t leave any of them out. They include structured telephone screening , second interviews, verification of claimed qualifications, managing the offer stage and for my money, a medical test.

But, to get back on the subject, the title is about psychometric testing. Why have I singled this out as being particularly important? – Simple really, it’s because (assuming you have chosen a modern psychometric test such as StaffMatcher), it requires no specialist knowledge to apply or interpret.

This last point is crucial when it comes to employers conducting their own recruitment. Any psychometric test that requires a specialist such as a psychologist to interpret the meaning of the report is a cumbersome and likely, expensive product.

There are two key reasons why applying a psychometric test is an essential step for employers.
The first reason has to do with your existing recruitment skills. The variation found between employers in respect to interviewing skills is very significant. Many still use an unstructured approach and as a result, do not measure candidates on an equal basis. This is a recipe for failure.

Along with this is the simple reality that even an experienced recruiter (and I put myself in that category), cannot, even with a structured interview process, uncover everything that should be uncovered about a candidate before a hiring decision is made.

For example, to measure any candidate against the 26 workplace attribute essential for on-the-job success, you would need to keep the candidate in the interview room for 2-3 hours. Obviously that’s not possible or practical (exhaustion for the interviewer and candidate happening along the way).
A validated psychometric test such as StaffMatcher, can measure the candidate against all 26 workplace attributes, in 30 minutes.

So the first point is covered. Psychometric testing covers for any deficiencies in your interviewing process.
The second reason it’s so important is that it provides an equal means of comparing all candidates against known benchmarks.

Put the two together – measures all candidates equally, and uncovers essential information not available through interviewing alone.

And let’s not forget the icing on the cake. StaffMatcher provides a separate reference check for each tested candidate. It includes customised questions so you know exactly what to ask each referee.
Psychometric testing – it’s a ‘must have’ for every hiring exercise.